- [Narrator] In partnership with the Curtis Institute of Music, WHYY presents the following program.

- My name is Grace Takeda, and I'm a violist at the Curtis Institute.

I think at the beginning of the school year, I didn't think I would have a crowd recital.

So the reason why I kind of want to focus on unaccompanied works is because throughout this pandemic, I've been thinking a lot about being alone, and what it means to be alone, I guess.

And I feel like I've been exploring that personally, but also musically, as a musician.

It's been a very revealing process, sort of diving in, and really focusing in on myself, and own only hearing myself.

And it's sort of been a personal struggle, but also physically, physical habits that I've been sort of avoiding, or getting away with.

I feel like I've been, I've had time to really, just slow down, and think about everything that I'm doing.

So, yeah.

I feel like my choice of repertoire really was for my own personal growth, I think as a musician.

This is a very short piece written for viola.

It's the Capriccio Hommage a Paganini by Henri Vieuxtemps.

It's considered a virtuosic piece for the viola repertoire, and it's specifically written in homage to Paganini.

It's a very beautiful piece.

It sort of starts out very soft, and it kind of unfolds into sort of, like a crazy, really passionate ending.

(soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) So I started violin when I was four, and when I was six, I started piano lessons, which I kept up along with violin until I graduated from high school.

Violin is an instrument that I wanted to play willingly when I was really young.

So I think it sort of held a special place in my heart.

(soft music) I think there's something so special about playing a string instrument.

It's like so close to you to your body, and just the way that the strings resonate.

I dunno, it was always something very comforting to me.

(soft music) My undergrad, I was originally majoring in violin performance, and then it was in my, I think my third year of my undergrad, I just remember rehearsing one day at our apartment, and we were both feeling a little stale, we were playing, and we were like, mm, I don't really know what to do.

And then we were just like, hey, why don't we just switch instruments?

For fun, you know, 'cause why not?

And so we switched instruments, and I don't know, I just, I feel like that was sort of the pivotal moment where I was like, whoa, this is such a cool instrument.

It has like a lower register, and the strings just resonate in a different way.

And it made me feel comfortable.

So this Prelude is by Ana Sokolovic.

I'll only be playing the Prelude.

It has a very unique sound.

In technical terms, there's a lot of quarter tones, different degrees of quarter tones.

She was really inspired by the sounds of Gypsy violin.

And she thought that the viola sort of, really caught the image of that Gypsy violin.

(soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) The next piece is Cadenza by Krzysztof Penderecki.

It has a lot of different aspects.

It starts out quite slow, a little more calm and somber.

And then it sort of starts to build up into this fast Allegro la Vache middle section.

And then at the end, we come back to the beginning theme.

(soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) (soft music) This piece is the fifth Caprice that Atar Arad wrote, and each Caprice goes side by side with a specific viola piece.

And this Caprice goes specifically with the Cadenza by Penderecki, since he wrote it based on the Cadenza.

There's a lot of similarities, and it's sort of interesting to see how he, how he builds on his ideas, and sort of creates something completely different and new.

(soft music) (soft music) I'm trying to figure out what it means for me to be a musician, and to be an artist.

I still am very passionate about it.

And I feel like it's really taught me a lot throughout my whole life.

(soft music) Here at Curtis, working with my teacher, Mr. Diaz.

I really like it when he just kinda tells me to just play.

Don't worry about making a mistake.

That's not what playing music is about.

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